TROY - In an effort to change both public perception about safety in the Collar City and to combat and prevent crime, the Troy Police Department and city administration announced at a press conference at City Hall on Monday a new initiative that will connect law enforcement officials more closely with local neighborhoods, as well as a plan to enhance police strength.

PEACE, which stands for Patrol Enhancement & Active Community Engagement, will ramp up walking beats throughout the entire city, placing officers in the areas where they are needed most as determined by neighbors and community leaders. Members of Mayor Lou Rosamilia's administration will assist police in identifying community leaders with whom they can liaison, providing information about problems in their respective neighborhoods that can then be addressed, and helping prevent other issues from arising.

Placement of patrols, traffic enforcement officers and community service officers will be based upon daily analysis of reports and crime data obtained by patrol captains, and units will operate on more flexible schedules to allow for shifting officers to locations and timeslots that need attention. Potential overtime needs created by PEACE will be paid for through a $45,000 federal Justice Assistance grant, in addition to previously budgeted overtime, said Police Chief John Tedesco.

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Tedesco also announced the creation of a new Emergency Response Team, or ERT, for the department, which will perform duties similar to a SWAT team in response to dangerous situations requiring enhanced emergency assistance. The ERT will be composed of current police personnel who will undergo additional highly-specialized training in the coming weeks before the team is officially instated.

Last July, the department's previous 12-member ERT resigned en masse, citing a lack of standards in line with those of a national organization. Tedesco decried that resignation as unprofessional and unwarranted, and pledged to create a new team sometime in the future.

The recent shooting deaths of Sha-Kim "Pacino" Miller in South Troy and Phillip McMillan in North Central have cast a long shadow over the city, Rosamilia said, feeding a culture of "senseless violence" that had to stop.

"Crime is unfortunate, and it's a part of our society," he said. "But the minute we accept it or we get used to it ... that's the minute we have lost to it. We are not going to lose to crime."

Making the city safer for residents - and building up citizens' perception of that safety - is crucial, Rosamilia said, and both PEACE and the new ERT addressed that issue head-on.

Tedesco said he was inspired to beef up walking patrols by noted researcher and criminologist James Wilson, a strong proponent of community involvement in law enforcement. Officers who walk the streets will not only gather information, Tedesco said, but get to know residents better and lay the foundation for an ongoing dialogue between the public and police.

"Certainly we're a response to crime, the first response to crime," Tedesco said. " ... Through the initiatives we're announcing here today, we want to continue to be a presence. We want to be there not only when you need us. We want to be there when things are quiet and we're invited by you."

Community members present for the press conference included Rev. Willie Bacotte of the Missing Link Street Ministry, who organized marches after Miller's and McMillan's deaths protesting violence and encouraging community action. Bacotte said he and other local leaders were "part of the eyes and ears of the police department," and, encouraged by what they heard Monday, eager to help in any way they can with the city's new plans.

Billie-Jean Greene, co-founder of the Uptown Initiative, said she was excited about the increased foot patrols, and believed fellow neighbors would also be happy to see police walking the streets.

"Obviously, when you see a police officer, if you're not causing the problem, it means safety to you, you're protected. So I think it's going to go over pretty well," she said.

As for the recent spate of armed robberies in the city, Tedesco said it would be difficult for the increased patrols to prevent such crime since it is so often spontaneous, but that information picked up in surrounding neighborhoods after those crimes can help aid their subsequent police investigations.